Noucas, Navy get another crack at NCAA tourney

Sunday

Mar 24, 2013 at 3:15 AM

By Mike ZhePortsmouth Herald

PORTSMOUTH — Maria Noucas was walking past the chapel at the U.S. Naval Academy last week when she realized, once again, that coaching college basketball at Navy is different than just about anywhere else.“There were two parking spots reserved,” she said. “One was for the Secretary of the Navy. The other was for the Sultan of Brunei.”

One thing that is a constant lately in Annapolis, Md., is the women’s basketball program’s success when the calendar turns to March. For the third year in a row, Navy is headed to the NCAA tournament after winning the Patriot League championship.

“It feels really good,” said Noucas, the former Portsmouth High School standout who’s in her fourth year as an assistant coach. “We’re really proud of our team this year. We don’t have any seniors. It made it more challenging, but even more rewarding.”

Navy is seeded No. 15 in its region and will play No. 2 Kentucky in a first-round game Sunday (noon) at St. John’s University in Queens, N.Y.Noucas isn’t the only local product taking part in the NCAAs. Maddie Blais of Exeter is a freshman at Marist, seeing time off the bench for the 12th-seeded Red Foxes, who take on No. 5 Michigan State in a first-round game this afternoon (1:45 p.m.) in College Park, Md.Blais, who played at Exeter High School and later prepped at New Hampton, scored a season-high 13 points in her team’s 72-50 win over Manhattan in the quarterfinals of the MAAC tournament, which it won to secure an auto bid to the NCAAs.

“I think it said something about the future I’ve got here at Marist,” she said.

Jeremy Friel of Durham is on the coaching staff at Albany, which beat Vermont last weekend to win America East and was trying to play giant-killer against Duke in the first round of the NCAA men’s tournament on Friday in Philadelphia.

“Great shoot around at Wells Fargo!” he tweeted Thursday. “Nice of the Duke staff to watch. I think they picked up a few drills they liked.”

Noucas, meanwhile, played on some of the last Class L teams at Portsmouth a decade ago and they were good ones, twice reaching the state semifinals. She opted to continue her career at Division III Bowdoin College, where she helped the Polar Bears reach four NCAA Division III tournaments, captained the team and earned All-NESCAC honors as a senior, and graduated among the program’s top 10 all-time in assists and 3-pointers.

The coach there her first three years was Stefanie Pemper, who’d later hire her a year into her tenure at Navy.

“When I recruited her to Bowdoin she told me she wanted to be a college coach and that passion never wavered,” said Pemper, shortly after her hiring. “Maria has an excellent understanding of the game and when she puts her mind to something she accomplishes it.”

While Noucas, who grew up in Portsmouth, said she would like to be a head coach down the road, she’s enjoyed seeing her role as an assistant expand at Navy, where she coaches the guards and has extensive recruiting responsibilities. Like the Naval Academy’s student body, the basketball players come from a wide range of geographic backgrounds.

“A lot of the same responsibilities, just in a greater capacity,” she said. “You get a lot more autonomy.”

Under Pemper, who’s in her fifth year as coach, the Midshipmen earned their first-ever NCAA berth in 2011 and have followed it up with two more, though they’ve yet to win a game. They lost to third-seeded DePaul two years ago, 56-43, and to second-seeded Maryland, 59-44, last year.

“Our team is familiar with how good the opponents will be, especially the athleticism and the physicality,” said Noucas. “We try to slow the game down a lot in those situations, be good defensively.”

Jade Geif, their 6-foot junior forward, leads the team in scoring (13.1 points) and rebounding (7.9). Two players Noucas works with, guards Alix Membreno and Kara Pollinger, are both in double-figures and strong at both ends of the floor.

Against Kentucky, Noucas’ team is again cast in the role of heavy underdog. But she’s looking forward to a return to the Northeast, where her family will be on hand for the game, as well as several Bowdoin alums.

“To be able to do it three times is pretty amazing,” said Noucas. “And it’s special to be able to do it here.”